The shadows around you lose focus and fade away. The darkness becomes...different somehow. It seems brighter or happier, if either of those is possible.

Air rushes past your face. You open your eyes—were they closed?–to find yourself floating amidst a cloud. Before you hovers a checkerboard and, beyond that, a naked seraphim. The angel smiles at you and taps at the board, adjusting her wings to protect her modesty as she moves.

“Your move,” the angel says.